Firearms, typically understood as a barreled weapon designed to launch a projectile toward an intended target have developed over centuries. Many developments have been made over the ages, but firearms have typically utilized the use of an explosive charge to create a rapidly expanding, controlled and directed volume of gas to propel a projectile out of the end of a barrel at high velocities.
A large factor in the creation of sound when discharging a firearm, often referred to as a report, is due to the escape and rapid and uncontrolled expansion of the explosive charge out of the muzzle-end wherein the projectile exits the firearm. This sound surrounding the escape of the rapidly expanding gas out of the muzzle-end of a firearm is often referred to as muzzle-blast.
Due to the explosive nature of the charge driving the projectile, the muzzle-blast is also often accompanied with muzzle-flash. Muzzle-flash is the visible light that exits the firearm from the muzzle-end associated with an explosive charge originating from within the firearm.
In many situations it is desirable to mask, muffle, suppress or otherwise mitigate the muzzle-blast and muzzle-flash of a firearm during use. The mitigation or suppression of these factors of a firearm may provide the operator with an increased tactical advantage and when operating in a covert manner. Some of the advantages associated with this increased tactical advantage over an intended target or enemy due to the suppression of the muzzle-blast include—increased difficulty in identifying the location of the firearm, masking the direction from which the firearm is firing, the reduction of noise levels to safe hearing levels, and the altering of a characteristic noise signature, which may indicate the distance, type or specific model of weapon.
A common solution to mitigate or suppress the muzzle-blast and/or muzzle-flash of a weapon surrounds the use of a suppressor, sometimes referred to as a “silencer” or “can,” affixed to the muzzle-end of a weapon to provide an intermediate expansion volume for rapidly expanding gasses related to the firing of the weapon. This intermediate expansion volume allows the control of the muzzle-blast and muzzle-flash within an enclosed space prior to exiting the suppressor. This intermediate expansion volume also allows controlled expansion of gasses related to the explosive charge exiting the muzzle of the weapon. By the time the rapidly expanding gas from the explosive charge reaches the ambient environment, after passing through the intermediate expansion volume, the differential pressure between the explosive charge related gasses and the ambient air is decreased. A decreased differential pressure, results in a lesser audible signature when such gasses related to the explosive charge rapidly expand in the ambient air. The visual signature related to muzzle-blast and muzzle-flash is also decreased to a lesser level due to the intermediate expansion volume. This intermediate expansion volume is intended to suppress the audible and visual signatures, herein collectively referred to as “firearm signature,” to levels offering increased tactical advantages.
The suppression of firearm signatures typically involves a device attached to the muzzle-end of a firearm to provide intermediate expansion volume and suppression of firearm signature with minimal or no impedance upon the trajectory or flight path of the projectile exiting the muzzle of the firearm.
A common problem with the use of suppressors in the field of firearm suppressors surround heat retained by the suppressor as well as an undesired phenomenon known as blowback. Blowback may occur with the use of a suppressor, through which rapidly expanding gasses enter a restricted volume of the suppressor and cannot escape entirely through an aperture provided for the flight path of a projectile or other venting apertures. As a result, a portion of the rapidly expanding gasses travel back down the barrel of the firearm back toward the operator of the firearm. Dependent upon the style of weapon, blowback gasses may exit the weapon through parts of a weapon including an ejection port, trigger assembly, bolt, receiver or charging handle area such as with a firearm disclosed U.S. Pat. No. 5,351,598 to Schuetz, herein incorporated in its entirety by reference. The effects of blowback include an increased rate of carbon deposits within the working mechanisms of the firearm, increased operating pressure within a weapon, increased wear and tear of a weapon, and a decrease in reliability of a weapon. Furthermore, blowback sometimes results in gasses exiting the weapon through previously discussed parts of the weapon after travelling back from the muzzle-end of the firearm and toward the operator. This blowback sometimes exits the weapon toward an operator's face and adversely affects the operators vision or respiratory function, endangering the operator.
Another common problem surrounding the use of existing suppressor devices include factors that negatively affect an operator's interaction with the weapon. The attachment of a metallic suppressor device increases the weight of a weapon in an asymmetric manner that affects the operator's ability to use the weapon in a manner consistent with normal use. A weapon with increased weight affixed to the muzzle-end, or firing-end, of the weapon is no longer balanced as it would be in normal operation without the affixed suppressor. This can cause inconsistent firing accuracy as well as accelerated fatigue of the weapon operator.
Yet another problem associated with the use of existing suppressor devices is the increased operating temperatures of the exposed housing of the suppressor and other heat conductive parts of a firearm such as metal rails. In some scenarios, the operating temperature of a suppressor may exceed temperatures of 426° C. (800° F.). A rail, or Picatinny rail, and other parts of a firearm may be appreciated to include, for example, those described by U.S. Pat. No. 9,032,860 to Faxon (Faxon) and U.S. Pat. No. 3,236,155 to Sturtevant (Sturtevant), each herein incorporated by reference in their entirety. Contact with a heated surface, such as the exposed housing of a suppressor by the operator or others in near proximity of the firearm may result in injury and distraction to the operator. Distractions in certain environments, such as covert operations or dynamic situations may result in life-threatening consequences to an operator or those surrounding them. As operators in military scenarios often work in teams, these life-threatening consequences may also affect a team, within which the weapon operator works.
A problem with certain existing suppressor devices is in relation to the weight of the unit. Having the suppressor mounted at the muzzle-end of a weapon results in large moment forces on the weapon held by the operator. It will be appreciated that added weight is generally undesirable, and further it will be appreciated that unbalanced added weight on a weapon which is otherwise designed for balance will result in accelerated fatigue and potential inaccurate operation of a weapon. Thus, a device providing the benefits of modern suppressors at a reduced weight is desired to limit the accelerated fatigue of a weapon operator.
A problem with certain existing suppressor devices surrounds the complexity of assembly of parts and maintenance after use due to fouling. If disassembled for purposes of maintenance in the field, a possibility exists that the device will be reassembled improperly which may result in malfunction of the device, damage to the device, or in a worst-case scenario, cause a catastrophic failure which may cause injury or death to an operator.